Catch Me
by Tiresias Pyrope
Summary: A story of how Nepeta and Equius, two very close friends, suddenly have their realities crushed and a romance blossoms. Humanstuck. I do not own Homestuck.
1. Chapter 1

*Hey everyone! If you already know of my writing, than welcome back. If not, then hello, I really hope you like this story and, if you want, check out my other story _Meeting an Old Friend. _Thank you so much for reading this, and please enjoy! :]*

**Catch Me: That's a Story for Another Time**

You walk through the halls of the same old school, noticing the same old people, and ignoring them, as usual. The walls of Madame Sicilia's Preparatory for the Arts, commonly referred to as MSPA, filled with only the most talented or most wealthy students, always seemed more like a prison than an actual school. As you look around, you notice the school's colors, an ungodly combination of olive-green and royal blue, which, although atrocious on so many levels, appealed to you.

And who are you? Well, you are Equius, the sole successor to the Zahaak line. Your father, once wealthy beyond imagination, created some of the greatest feats of machinery in existence today. However, your father's wealth did not get you here; he lost all of his wealth by draining his money into a failed attempt to create artificial in other words, you are an heir to nothing. No, instead, you got to this school because of your outstanding ability to build machinery, particularly robots. Speaking of which, you realize your close proximity to the robot repair class, which you consecutively received 100% in. However, before you can enter the class, which you do not need to go into until twenty minutes from now, a body rushes into your back, arms clasping your waist fiercely. The force of the incoming person knocks you down, and you just barely stop yourself from falling face first with your heavily muscled arms. You pick yourself up and look at the girl, who still has arms wrapped around your midsection, who tackled you. You look down to see a thin girl with radiant green eyes, who's short, closely cropped hair partially covers.

"Hello Nepeta," you rasp, "will you always continue to greet me as such?" Nepeta, who you consider your best friend, swipes at her clothing. On her slender frame, a long green trench coat hangs loosely off her shoulders, left open, revealing the atrocious uniform of a blue skirt and green blouse. Of course, following the school code's rule of allowing any additions to the uniform, as long as said items matched the school colors, Nepeta also wears her usual blue leggings, mostly hidden blue arm warmers, and a cute, quirky blue cat hat.

"Of course, Equius," Nepeta replies, smiling mischievously, "and I am purretty sure I won't stop doing this as well." Before you can stop what you know Nepeta plans on doing, you feel her lick your face. You, quite uncomfortable with the strange, public gesture of affection, begin blushing and sweating heavily. She, of course expecting this, pulls out a towel from her cat themed backpack and begins wiping your face.

"Nepeta," you groan exasperated, "you know I do not enjoy when your tongue touching my face; it's highly inappropriate." Naturally, she just giggles, and starts pulling on your arm, away from your class.

"Now, that's just mean," Nepeta responds, pouting, "Now you owe me. Follow me." She tugs harder on your arm, obviously not doing anything considering you weigh around one hundred pounds of muscle more and a whole foot taller. "Equius purrlease," Nepeta whines, "come on, we'll be back before your class I purromise." You sigh in defeat and give in to the small girl, who now begins smirking satisfied. The girl guides you down the hall towards at the end of the hallway. She stops you in front of a familiar room and stops in front of the window and bends down, motioning for you to do the same. Now too drained to care, just exhales irritated, and follows the teen's lead. Peering into the room you view what Nepeta came to see, Karkat Vantas.

Karkat Vantas, a short and grouchy computer student, became Nepeta's crush once she saw him. She always talks about the boy and never seems to have him out of her mind. Time and time again Nepeta has stared at the red-brown eyed boy with black curls through this very window. You sigh and grab your best friend by the shoulders looking her directly in the eyes.

"Now, Nepeta," you say seriously, "why don't you ask him out?" You never understood her extreme shyness, especially considering she blatantly stalks the teen and everyone knowing her "purrecious secret crush."

"I can't!" Nepeta exclaims nervously pulling at her sleeves, "I would just _die _if he said no!" You look at the poor girl with pity, but say nothing. Instead, you simply pick her off the ground, and walk her back towards here advanced art class. She goes with you willingly, holding tightly onto your arm.

"You know, you would be so much happier if you just found out, right?" you mumble quietly, "that's all I really want for you. To be happy." She looks up at you, eyes lightly tearing up, and nods. Naturally, you expect this and grab a tissue from your backpack, designed with hand painted picture, by Nepeta, of a mechanical horse, and wipe her eyes. She smiles and looks forward. Looking around you see people staring at both of you, most likely wonder if your together. The two affectionate friends always have people thinking that they love each other. Their guesses do not stray too far from the truth. _However, _you think smiling sadly, _that's a story for another time_.

*Hey guys, so I realize that short first chapters are my thing, but my next chapters should be much, much longer. I hope you like this story and please don't be shy reviewing, even just to say, "hey, this is okay. I _might _follow this". Thanks for reading. :]*


	2. Chapter 2

*Hey guys, so I changed the rating to T. To tell the truth it was always meant to be T rated, I just pressed the wrong button XD! There are some adult themes which present themselves in this story such as self-harm and eating disorders. You have been warned. Anyhow, let's get on to the story :]*

**Catch Me: Right as Darkness Closed in All Around**

You know sit in your robot repair class, mindlessly tinkering with the simple assignment in front of you. In all actually, you completed the assignment twenty minutes into class, however, continued to modify the project to improve the small item of machinery. Anyway, if you told the teacher Mr. Strider, who often told you to call him Dirk, you finished, the other students would feel less than average. This could not be allowed, for when they feel this way they tend to dislike you and, by association, Nepeta. You know Nepeta's sense of belonging already hung by a thread, especially with how the girl acts and dresses in a childish fashion. And you, as her best friend, feel the need to protect her from unhappiness. Especially with her… condition.

Speaking of which, you check the clock, ten minutes from the end of class, and, realizing most have completed the assignment, decide to raise your hand. "Mr. Strider, may I go to the bathroom?" you ask.

"Yes, however," Mr. Strider begins, "There are no needs for such formalities, Equius. Please, call me Dirk." You simply nod your head in acknowledgement and leave the room. Although you do not plan to call Mr. Strider by his first name, you do not confront him about it; you consider such a blatant insubordination of a teacher highly inappropriate.

However, sometimes, following the rules can come second to the correct choice. For this reason, you head down the hall, away from the boys bathroom, and towards the woman dormitories. As you slowly walk down the well-lit, horrendously decorated hallway you begin to sweat. You never understood how anyone could stay so calm when disregarding rules, you always sweated and breathed heavy, such as right now. However, despite the tempting urge to turn around, you continue disregarding the established rules. Finally, you reach the door which leads to the girls' dorms and check to see if anyone wanders the halls forbidden to any male. Deeming the passage safe, you enter and begin fast-walking down the hall. Finally, you reach your destination and peer inside. Your eyes, covered with cracked sunglasses, bulge and you utter a horrified gasp as you view exactly what you hoped not to find.

_~Third Person Perspective of Nepeta~_

Earlier, Nepeta wiped away her tears as she entered her favorite class. Once she sat down, her special notepad opened, she knew exactly what she wanted to draw. Letting go off the previous conversation with Equius about her unrequited love, she began drawing something she believed Equius would love. She began working magic with her pencil, smooth tip creating an image before her very eyes. As the class continued, her drawing became more feverish, quicker-paced as she became more comfortable with the utensil and paper before her. Just thirty minutes into the class, Ms. Harley, thoroughly interested in why the thin girl remained so intent on her work, came to see what the talented girl wanted to create. As the teacher looked over the student's shoulder, her eyes boggled, completely astounded at the work in front of her. A girl of only sixteen years should not have the ability to produce such a dynamic piece of art, and yet her eyes did not lie.

Finally, forty minutes into class, Nepeta finished her beautiful illustration. Her hands ached with exhaustion, and seemed almost rubbed raw, however, the girl still gleamed with pride and self-confidence. The small girl decided, now brimming with a confidence she never experienced before, she wanted to take on a massive goal. She walked up to Ms. Harley and asked to be excused. The teacher, knowing the girl worked incredibly hard in class allowed the departure. The green-eyed female walked slowly down the hall and entered a computer class, one where she had no business in. All the students and the stunned teacher, completely lost for words, watched as she made her way across the room. Ignoring the stares, Nepeta walked straight up to a short and irritable boy, who sat there completely bewildered. She slowly lowered her head to his ear and asked a simple, yet extremely meaningful question, "Will you go out with me?" The girl stepped backward and waited for an answer, expecting the best. Karkat, caught off guard by the question sputtered out complete nonsense, until finally he calmed down. He looked at the thin, pretty girl right in the eyes and responded shyly, blood rush causing his cheeks to burn bright red.

"I'm sorry, you seem perfectly nice and all, but, no," Karkat replied, more embarrassed for Nepeta, than for himself. _No,_ Nepeta repeated in her head, _he said no. _The girl, stuck in a trance, left the room, utterly breathless, and slowly closed the door softly behind her. And she ran. She ran to her room tears streaming down her heartbroken face. As she hurried away from her dreaded defeat, she clutched her heart, as if physically in pain. Down the hall she burst through the door into the girls' dorms breathing heavily and sobbing uncontrollably. At last, she reached her destination and entered her room.

Slamming the door behind her she took off everything but her shirt and short skirt. Nepeta walked up to her closet door, and peered into the mirror hanging there. She stared at the girl in disgust. Looking down her unnaturally thin, sunken physique, she saw long angry white scars trailing menacingly down her body. More tears brimmed in her eyes. _How I could think he would like me, _she mentally cried with self-loathing, _not only am I ugly and disfigured, but an idiot as well. _She reached into her top drawer of her dresser and pulled out a sharp blade. The same blade she had used to cut the hate and pain out of her, unbeknownst to anyone, but her best friend.

Then, she, if just for one last time, grabbed her notepad and viewed her drawing, now dingy and lifeless. On the next page she wrote everything in her heart furiously, and started crying once again. She poured out everything unfair in her life into one little note, informing the reader of her complete sadness. Finally, slipping the notepad into her trench coat's pocket, Nepeta put on the coat and sat on her bad.

Holding the blade in her hand, the defeated girl deftly cut into her wrist, swift and deep. And as she felt her inner strife become numbed by the excruciating physical pain, her best friend entered the room, right as the darkness closed in.

*Okay, so maybe this chapter isn't _much _longer, but it is longer. Also, a shout out to my editor and friend who goes by the penname shuantrai! Thanks for helping out so much 3! Anyway, thanks so much for reading this story! :]*


	3. Chapter 3

*Hello, beautiful people! I don't actually have much to say except that the adult themes found in Chapter 2 carried over into this chapter and, once again, you are Equius. Thanks for reading! :]*

**Catch Me: Love, Nepeta**

You behold the scene before you, gasping in utter shock. Nepeta, your closest, dearest friend, now lies in a pooling puddle of her blood with nothing on, but undergarments and her trench coat hung loosely over her frail shoulders. Astonishingly deep scars cover her abnormally thin, fragile looking body, bringing tears to your eyes. Emotions began feeling emotions welling in your chest. Anger at whoever caused Nepeta such pain, sadness and pity for the poor girl, and most of all regret. You knew she might cut herself to relieve the pain after the earlier conversation and ate little when depressed, but never could you imagine seeing the scene before you. Shaking of your thoughts you act. You run to the unconscious girl and pick her up, her insignificant weight causing fresh tears to form in your already overflowing eyes. Holding Nepeta close to your chest with one heavily muscled arm, you grab the phone in your pocket and choose speed dial three.

"Hello, what is your-" The woman begins before you interrupt.

"I have a small girl bleeding to death from her wrists. We are at MSPA on 413 Hussie Lane," you quickly state before clicking off the phone. As an individual trained for first aid, and much more by associates of your father who worked in the medical field, any additional instruction from the woman could not help.

You finally exit the building through the front doors, ignoring the secretary telling you to stop, and rush outside. Gently placing Nepeta on the ground, you rip off a two long strips of cloth from your jacket and wrap the material lightly around the girl's wrists. You pick up the mortally damaged girl and carry her towards the end of the private school's incredibly long driveway, hurrying as you notice the cloth on the teen's injury beginning to bleed through. Once at the end, you place her on a bench. Looking at her tear soaked, yet completely peaceful face, you break down. You look at the sweet girl's face and wonder why life decides to bring such pain to such an innocent girl.

Memories of the two of you race through your brain, revealing all the pain Nepeta felt. All the times you helped fix her up, cringing at every bloody cut. Every time you watched her play with her food, forcing yourself to look away, not to notice your welling tears. The fear of your tears causing her grief and resulting in more depression for the girl remains the only reason why you wear your cracked sunglasses. Taking off the disgusting fashion wear, revealing deep blue eyes, you look, once again, at Nepeta. The closest thing to a best friend you ever had.

Someone who you could have considered your best friend, if only you had not ruined it by falling in love with her. Even now, as she lies on the bench slowly bleeding out, you cannot help, but feel warmth in your heart at the sight of her angelic face. However, an even stronger, and much darker, emotion covers the love you feel for the girl, worry. You decide to check her pulse, at this point an, almost, non-existent whisper, and add more strips of your jacket to the blood soaked ones from before.

After getting the girl's bandages as tight as you possibly can and elevating her arms to slow down blood flow, he, finally, hears the ambulance's wails. As the truck approaches you wave your arms, causing them to slow to a stop. The rest happens in a blur. Abruptly, you see medics carrying Nepeta into the vehicle, her oversized jacket slipping off her shoulders. You catch the precious item and trudge into the truck, receiving a few sidelong looks, but no objections. As the vehicle speeds ahead towards the closest hospital, your eyes never leave the beautiful, broken girl. Never do you look away, not as the medics feverishly shout to one another, not as the ambulance truck jerks side to side, not even as the truck stops in front of the hospital. The physicians rush Nepeta into the building, you only steps behind. And as they gain entry to the emergency room, a nurse stops you, causing the dying girl to leave your field of vision.

"Get out of my way!" you shout angrily, "I need to be there!" The nurse shakes her head, and, to make a point, pulls on the now locked door. There is no gaining entry now. You scream, letting out all the pain you kept from showing until now. The ethereal sound reverberates through the bleach white, overly sterile, disgustingly peaceful halls. You fall to your knees, crying hysterically, and pound at the wall screaming your love's name.

Finally, all your anger dissolves into a gaping trench of intense sadness. The nurse looks at you, full of pity and sympathy, but leaves, knowing you need your space. You hold Nepeta's coat to your chest, as a child would clutch his blanket, and feel something in the inner pocket of the jacket. You, upon investigating, pull out Nepeta's sketch pad. You flip through the pages, experiencing awe you never before felt in your life. Countless pictures of astounding beauty reside in the deceptively simple memo pad. As you begin nearing the end you view something which triggers fresh tears to form in your eyes. Upon this page an extraordinarily lifelike steed dominates the page, and sitting on the horses back, an adorable, perfect kitten playfully swats at stallion's tail. Smiling you turn the page, and your stomach drops rapidly. Scrawled out on the final sheet of the notepad, you find a letter, directly addressed to you.

_Dear Equius,_

_I knew you would eventually find this. Of course you would be the one to search through my notepad, knowing it would hold some of my deepest secrets and everything remotely close to my heart. Equius, you have always told me to follow my heart, to do whatever would make me happy. I will always love you for that, even after I am gone. Today, I took your well-meant advice, unexpectedly confident everything would turn out all right. I climbed above all my insecurities, my past failures, and all my fears. And I reached the edge of the cliff-side basking in the warmth of the sun. However, on my high, I stretched too far towards the sun, looking for forbidden happiness._

_And I fell. I fell faster than anyone should and continued to accelerate. Down into the depths of sadness, suffering, pain, and unbearable rejection I dropped. And as their cold, slimy, tendrils of self-loathing began to enter me, I feel nothing. I feel so empty, so worthless, and I just can't do it anymore. I just need to cut out all my agony, remove the cancer of despair and misery from my beaten, bruised, and disgusting body._

_My sun is gone. I have nothing left. But even writing this, I hope, in some pathetic attempt to escape reality, that maybe my night will put me back together, making me beautiful. But who am I kidding, I have no knight in shining armor. All I have is this inescapable heartache, and angst. And I can't take it anymore._

_Equius, this letter may make it seem like it's your fault. But it's not. It is you, with all the strength, with all the kindness and love in your heart that kept me from collapsing long ago. You made even my darkest nights radiate, intense, yet gentle, like moonlight. Equius, you ARE my moon, filling my blackest times with affection and compassion never given to me before. Although I am too far gone for even your unmatchable goodness to fix me, you still have touched my heart, making this shattered life complete. I will always love you for that._

_Love,_

_Nepeta_

*So, yeah, I am literally sitting at my computer, crying, "Why do I do this to myself?!" So, I think I am just going to leave it at that until next chapter. Thanks for reading this, you are all beautiful, and please, do not hate me for all the sad stories I write. :'[*


	4. Chapter 4

*Hello, everyone! I'm so grateful for all of you reading this, and please don't hate me if I do not portray Horuss correctly, I am just not good with his character. Lastly, I do not own the organization mentioned in the story, the ASPCA. :]*

**Catch Me: Ever so Slightly**

You read over the message again and again, astounded by the sincerity, and heartbreaking grief evident in the writing. And as the words sink in, you begin to understand Nepeta's pain. Just as she, you never felt the affection you sought for. Instead, you faced rejection with every word of Nepeta's own crush. However, unlike the dear girl in the emergency room, you had time to spend with the person you loved. She forever felt alone, even if in your company. Tears fall from your eyes, dampening the sketch pad in your hands. And as you cry silently, a hand shakes your shoulder, ceasing your obsessive reading of the note.

Looking up, you see your brother, Horuss, with his boyfriend, Rufioh.

"Equius," your brother begins quietly with a worried tone, "What are you doing here? We just got a message that you were here, screaming." Of course, you should have known the staff would have contacted them. Rufioh used to volunteer here and became close friends with a good number of the staff. You used to come with them, before enrolling at MSPA, when Horuss wanted to visit his boyfriend, but had to babysit you. One of the staff must have recognized you and sent a message to Rufioh, who in turn informed Horuss. Sighing, you point at the emergency room door.

"Nepeta is in there, Horuss," you state, more collected and just looking at the ground depressed. Horuss glances at the door, shocked and looks back at you. The college student has no clue of Nepeta's self-harming and eating disorder. "She-she did something she shouldn't have," you finish vaguely, not wanting to elaborate. Your brother, clearly not satisfied, but refraining from asking questions, just nods. The other, older, teens opt to sit in the chairs on the other side of the hallway, and wait silently in the hall. The silence becomes deafening an so, to pass the time, you think back on the time you and Nepeta first met.

When you were thirteen, Horuss, once again, dragged you to visit Rufioh; at the time, you swore your brother had an unhealthy obsession for the teen. After all, Horuss, at twenty years old, should have had some different friends, or at least acquaintances, but nope; Rufioh remained the sole highlight of the college student's life. Anyway, this time Rufioh decided to help at a local ASPCA doing little things, like cleaning after the animals and such other kinds of manual labor. You had gotten bored, per usual, and decided to wander through the barn outside, to find anything interesting.

Once there, you noticed a large black stallion, truly a majestic beast. For the next hour or so, you just watched the horse, asking a nearby attendant about the creature. Apparently, the horse belonged to a prodigious line of award-winning animals, and he, a being meant for racing, soon got bought by a wealthy family. However, this family, rather cruel and neglectful, forced the horse to run in every competition on only the barest amount of training, food and water. Although the beast performed well considering the circumstances, getting third place at almost every competition just from natural ability alone, the owners soon found no reason to keep the animal which should have received first place easily. They sold him for a fraction of the price he deserved and spent four years, alone and mistreated, in some horrible animal hoarder's barn. Eventually, the ASPCA rescued the creature, dehydrated, starving, and on the very brink of death, and rehabilitated him back to his full glory.

The story gave you a new understanding of the world, not just a black and white picture of right and wrong. And neither did it operate as a machine, all the small gears doing what needed to happen and going forward. Instead, the real world consists of all different shades of right and wrong, yet all equal in some, strange, impossible to explain way. Similarly, some of the damaged gears in the machinery of real life can break others, or get broken themselves, needing some sort of modification or reparation by an outside force. The world doesn't follow an order and even if one tries to deny it and consider one thing greater than the other, truthfully, everything, and especially, everyone remains equal.

Stunned by the strange enlightenment, you did not spot a tiny, gray kitten napping next to your foot until a girl practically pounced on top of the poor creature. Jumping up from the sudden intrusion, you looked down to find a frail girl on the ground, trapping the animal with cupped hands.

"Now," the strange girl said to the mewing animal, starting to stand up, "I finally caught you. You're a purrety fast for a little guy, aren't you?" The younger girl, as if just now noticing you, looked up and began blushing heavily. "Oh, I'm sorry. You were sitting there, weren't you?" she apologized shyly, "I'm Nepeta Leijon, it's a purrleasure to meet you." The little girl stuck out her hand, looking down. Even back then, three years ago, you thought she looked beautiful; her short black hair slightly messy, and her light sprinkling of freckles burning bright red due to her blood-flushed face. Although flustered, you then proceeded to chuckle nervously and took her hand, "I'm Equius Zahhak."

As you smile slightly, recollecting the precious memory, a loud rolling sound catches your attention. Looking down the hall, you see three male nurses rolling a cart covered with several bags of blood speeding toward the emergency room. You quickly stand up and notice the emergency room door's wide open, revealing your small friend and a screeching heart monitor. Panicking, you rush into the room, ignoring the shouts of your companions. You sprint inside the room, eyes never leaving Nepeta's thin, scarred body. And once inside you throw your body to the wall, allowing the nurses to get inside, and the doors close behind them.

"Hurry!" a doctor shouts at the nurses as they connect a blood filled IV to Nepeta, "She lost too much blood and her circulatory system has ceased!" The Holter monitor next to you stops beeping and releases a shrill, continuous shriek. You rush forward, trying to reach your friend, but the three nurses, now relieved of their job of attaching the IV to Nepeta, hold you back. Struggling against the male attendants, you see another doctor pick up a set of manual external defibrillators. He uses the paddle-like machine and sends an electrical jolt through the patient's body. Roaring as you continue to hear the flat lining heart monitor, you press forward against the medical assistants. The three men, not able to simply restrain you anymore, throw you back, causing you crash into the heart monitor, silencing it. The doctors, as if oblivious, shock the frail girl again, still receiving no response. Getting off the ground the medical team defibrillates the girl one last time before a physician checks her pulse. Your stomach drops as you watch the doctor stands idly, holding the girls wrist and looking at his watch.

The medical team, now distracted, does not have time to stop you as you rush to the poor girl's side, speaking softly. "Nepeta, please," you sob, "Come back, I need you." You hold on to her hand, ignoring everything, but her angelic face. "I know I'm not who you wanted. I know I'm not your knight in shining armor. I'm not like that to you. B-but Nepeta, I wouldn't have hurt you. I could never reject you!"

You lean forward, tears streaming down your face, and whisper softly into her ear, "Nepeta, I would have caught you, if you gave me the chance." Shoving your face into her shoulder you release a muffled shriek, letting out all the heartache and pain in one fell swoop, your body racking uncontrollably. Finally, as your yelling dissolves into fits of sobs, a hand shakes you, grabbing your attention. Looking up, you see a doctor pointing to something in front of you. You gaze at the smaller girl and you almost cease breathing altogether. Yet again, you burst into tears, but this time because you see little Nepeta's chest move up and down, ever so slightly.

*Okay guys, if you are there bawling, it's okay, I am too. Also, I have been sick lately so updates may come in a little slow, I am so sorry guys. So yeah, I love how this story is turning out and if you agree, please leave a review or follow/favorite. It would really mean a lot. Thanks guys, you're the best. :']*


	5. Chapter 5

*Hey, guys! This chapter will take place from Nepeta's point of view, but from a third person perspective, almost as if Equius is watching. Hey, maybe he is! O_O Ha-ha, I am just kidding, Equius is pretty creepy, but not quite to that extent! Also, thanks for reading this and I really hope you guys stay tuned. Re-reading the last chapter, it kind of sounded like an ending, but you should know I do not plan on ending this story any time soon. Although I am playing things by ear, I promise I have some end-point planned for this story. Kind of. Anyway the crappy poem is mine, but I don't care if you do anything with it. However, My Little Pony isn't mine, so, yeah, don't sue me. Please keep reading! :]*

**Catch Me 5: As Long as He's Around**

_So as the sun lightened up the skies,_

_And it began to shine,_

_Drying the tears in my eyes,_

_He rode from behind the horizon line._

_A knight as he,_

_Being as kind as can be,_

_For once let me see,_

_From the dark, I could be free,_

Nepeta quickly remembered her silly poem from the sixth grade. She always loved the poem, even though it remained as meaningless and horribly written as the day she wrote it. It reminds her of happier times, when she truly believed in a knight would one day sweep her off her feet and ride off into the sunset. Nepeta sighs heavily, and looks around. The bed under her, laden with scratchy white sheets, matched the white bed-side table, white curtains, and white walls. However, an object of a different color occupied the space on top of the colorless nightstand; blue Fiesta roses, bought by Equius. He always knew what would make her happy, such as decorating the drab room with her favorite color. Chuckling lightly she tries to move to sniff the flowers. However, she suddenly feels light-headed and slumps back into the bed, forced to resort to re-reading Equius's note, once again.

_Dear Nepeta,_

_Although I wish I could stay with you, I simply cannot, for my own sake or for yours. I must explain to the teachers, in mild details, of course, such details would be inappropriate to share without your permission. Also, to make sure you keep up your full-ride scholarship to our overly expensive school, I must retrieve your homework, to lighten the blow to your grade. _

_Also, Nepeta, please do rest. The doctor informed me that you lost a blood, almost 40%. The very fact that a young girl, in your state, surviving such extremes is a miracle in itself. Please, do not waste it. I do not want you to be hurt anymore Nepeta. Please sleep and relax, if not for yourself, purrlease, do it to ease my and your families, troubled mind._

_Your Friend,_

_Equius._

Giggling both at her best friend's use of "purrlease" and the awkward way in which he writes. Nepeta wonders why Equius, even when they first began their friendship, always seems to need her safe; he seems to enjoy making Nepeta as happy and healthy as possible. Whatever the reason, she feels insanely appreciative she had, somehow, gained a companion such as the big, strong Equius. However, the parts of Equius Nepeta appreciated the most, remained hidden from everyone else. This notion, bringing back memories, causes her to begin chuckling loudly, remembering the first time she entered her best friend's room.

"Come on Equius!" a fourteen year old, freshman Nepeta whined, latched on to Equius's arm. She longed to see what he hid in his, most likely creepy, lair of his and would purrsist until he gave in. _No more Mr. Secretive_, she mentally declared, _even if it kills me I am getting in that room. _She looked up at the older boy, pouting slightly. She saw Equius, frowning faintly, his astonishingly dark blue eyes peering back, with the absence of the silly sunglasses; rub the back of his neck. She once again, finds the boy startling. The two of them seem polar opposites, yet the closest of friends. Equius, with his long, straight black hair, his social reservations and large, muscled frame contrasted greatly with the tiny, talkative, girl with slightly curled hair. Although the differences seemed fascinating from the outside, sometimes their variances became a real annoyance for the two of them.

"No Nepeta," the stern boy responded, "I would like to keep my room to myself. I prefer to keep some things private." Equius shook his head and continued on down the hallway, dragging the impetuous girl away from the boy's dormitory.

"That's no far Equius, I let you see my room," Nepeta half shouted, earning a loud shush from the other teen. According the school rules, even saying something of that nature could get them both monitored heavily for the rest of the year, and, in November, it could ruin the entirety of the year.

"Nepeta, hush!" Equius whispered fiercely, "you can't go around blabbing about that. Anyway, I shouldn't have gone, and you shouldn't have invited me, especially just to watch silly cat videos the computer!" The school, known for pampering their wealthy students to a shocking extent, provided every dorm room with a computer, as well as a list of stern rules.

"Equius, I thought we were friends!" Nepeta whined, causing the boy to stop in his tracks and going rigid. Nepeta, rather shocked by the strong reaction, but not giving up quite yet, looked defiantly up at the taller teen.

"Nepeta," Equius mutters, letting go of his friend's arm, "that is not fair. Not at all." Nepeta simply turns her head and walks towards the boy's dormitories, smirking. The girl giggles as she watches Equius, sighing dejectedly, following her, tugging at his blue jacket nervously.

As the two rule-breakers close in on Equius's room, the older boy begins tugging at Nepeta's trench coat. "Please, Nepeta, do you have to do this?" he asked desperately. She simply nods her head laughing lightly.

"Equius," she began, laughing at the tone of the other student's voice, "I don't care what weird things are in your room silly." Equius simply turned his gaze away, chuckling self-consciously. Nepeta shook her head and opened the door. First, she noticed the various weights, which he must have obtained before his father's bankruptcy. However, the objects she actually took into account involved the posters hanging everywhere, as well as the merchandise littering the room. "Equius," she started slowly, completely dumbfounded by the unexpected memorabilia "why are there animated ponies from that TV show all over the place?" All throughout the room, multi-colored ponies from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic resided, contrasting with the exercise equipment and the faint smell of body odor.

"Uh, Nepeta," Equius began, "I know this looks weird but-". However before he can finish Nepeta started giggling manically, hanging on his shoulder. Equius, rather nervous, stammers out incoherent explanations for the strange mementos.

Gasping for air, Nepeta continued breathlessly, "Equius, this was what you were afraid of showing me?" The boy, caught off-guard and relieved, did not notice Nepeta jumping up to lick him affectionately. He then scowled in disgust, however it quickly dissolved to a comforted smile. Nepeta, smiling and releasing loud laughter, tackle-hugged her friend, causing the two to fall over and chuckle hysterically.

Nepeta smiles lightly remembering the memory. She suddenly feels thankful to have not left her friend behind. She giggles lightly and slides into the sheets, yawning lightly. Grinning contentedly she falls asleep, thinking, _maybe, my life will not be so bad, as long as he's around._

*Okay, so this chapter is pretty much just a cute filler, due to writer's block and being absolutely busy recently (it was my birthday on Wednesday :]). Anyway, the plot will come in next chapter; I just destroyed my writer's block at midnight last night X]. Expect more soon!


	6. Chapter 6

*Hello, my beautiful audience! Welcome, once again to Catch Me. Today the story will take place from Equius's point of view and we get to see what he did directly after leaving the hospital room! And guess what? There is an actual set up for a plot! So no more random, ctesy, side stories this chapter, only action. Have fun, and oh, this story was inspired from the song "Angel With a Shotgun" by the Cab; mostly the phrase, "throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe". WHICH I DO NOT OWN! AT ALL! IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM! Enjoy! :]*

**Catch Me: Everything I Have**

You walk down the halls, your heavily muscled frame exposed due to storing your torn, slightly bloodied jacket in your horse themed back-pack, leaving you clothed only with a muscle shirt, heading down the narrow halls of the hospital. Finally, you reach the men's bathroom and go over to the nearest sink, washing water over your face. You grab a towel from your backpack, and wipe your face. Looking into the mirror, you look rather worse for wear. Dark bags have formed under your eyes, contrasting greatly with your pale skin and vibrant, dark blue eyes. Your hair, however, remains as pin straight as usual, but now hangs messily over the sides of your face and shoulders. Sighing, you leave it, however undignified one could consider it, and exit the stoically white confines of the hospital, revealing a run-down part of town, laden with garbage of all sorts.

You begin to head towards the school, a long six-mile journey, carefully traversing cracked sidewalks and pot-hole filled streets. Looking around, you see all apartments or houses, most of which vacated, or so neglected they seem abandoned. A few streets away from the medical center, the streets become even more derelict. Glass and rotted wood, along with various unpleasant, unidentifiable substances, coat the path, causing you to jump back and forth from the sidewalk to the road.

As you traverse the rough terrain, your mind begins to wander; pondering the situation Nepeta put herself. _She probably doesn't even realize how much trouble she is in, _you think. _Her parents, are poor, even more so than my father. How can they afford the hospital bill, especially with Nepeta's seven younger siblings?_ Sighing, you march on ahead, intent on figuring out this enigma.

However, after you pass a collapsed building, which fell halfway into the lane, a car cruises up next to you and the driver rolls down the illegally tinted windows. On the other side of the glass, a teen, about your age, smiles dopily, his face covered with grey and white face paint. Someone could have easily mistaken him as a strange adaptation of a clown, if not for his long, horribly messy hair and the three large scars which begin at his forehead and end at his chin. The interior of the car smells of smoke, possibly marijuana, and booze, causing your stomach to lurch in disgust. The teen, clearly unaffected by the odor, sticks out his hand, wanting to shake yours.

"Hey, motherfucker," the stranger says jovially, his voice hoarse, yet relaxed, "My name is Gamzee Makara, how you up and doing." In response to his question, you shrug slightly and shake his hand, somewhat cautiously due to the strange circumstances. "So, my motherfucking boss told me to get some muscle for a certain task we got to do. You seem like a real strong motherfucker, so what do you say? You in?"

You consider simply walking away at this point, but then quickly remember the financial situation your friend is in. "How much would you pay me for this… job?" you ask, your voice trailing off. Gamzee smiles devilishly and pulls out a large stack of hundred-dollar bills, counting each one out individually. He flips bill after bill, causing your head to swim; you have not seen this kind of money in a long time.

"Well, motherfucker, it seems the boss gave me thirteen hundred for this one, must be a real well-paying operation for this wad of cash to be handed out," he states matter-of-fact manner, smiling pleasantly, "You going to do it?" Although your gut screams out to not take part in this most likely illegal happening, you cannot help but think of Nepeta and her family. _You have to do this, for her. _You nod your head, sickened with having to stoop so low, but unable to do anything about it. The driver smirks and gestures for you to get in the car, which you begrudgingly do, frowning out of shame and frustration with the hopeless situation.

Once inside the vehicle, the suffocating smell of smoke and alcohol dominating your senses, your clown themed employer lays down what your assignment demands of you. He explains your job would entail waiting outside an unspecified building, where you would heave some sort of object into a vehicle, and then they would drop you off a few blocks away from where you reside. Concerned by the lack of information given, you frown, but refuse to question the teen. He clearly has the upper hand here, considering he holds the money which you need to help your friend, and questions could easily have you kicked out of the car. You simply cannot afford to risk that.

So, sitting in the chair silently, you wait until you notice the sun has not gone down yet. "Are we going to do this during the day?" you ask, perplexed by incompatibility of the obvious illegal nature of this activity and the time of day. "It can only be two in the afternoon right now."

"Well, despite the belief of most motherfuckers, most activities of this nature take place during the motherfucking day. Only a motherfucking idiot would try this at night when all those motherfuckers are asleep and every motherfucking noise can be heard." Although uneasy with the visibility of this task, you accept the answer and fall back into silence once again.

Looking out the heavily tinted window, you realize the road Gamzee currently drives on leads to dead-end, revealing a lightly forested trail. However, before you can even mention this fact, Gamzee drives right off the road, onto the path. Gripping on to the seat, the vehicle jumps up and down, throwing the two passengers around. Somehow, however, you eventually reach your destination; a small clearly in a heavily forested part of woods.

"Okay, motherfucker, we can get out now, looks like we are a little early," Gamzee states nonchalantly, motioning for you to get out and walking through the trees. Releasing a dejected sigh, you get out of the car and follow the other teen. The car, obviously rigged to extreme standards does not even beep as your delinquent companion locks it by pressing the button on the keys.

The two of you find your way through the vegetation, tripping along roots, and getting snagged on thorny plants. However, after a long journey the trees open up to a grassy, well-maintained clearing. Exhaling in relief, you exit the woods, revealing the building where the crime will take place. Looking ahead you see a familiar, extremely large brick building, adorned with blue and green banners, Madam Sylvia's Preparatory for the Arts.

Gasping in shock you stare at the building, every part of your mind screaming at you to end this now, before you get any deeper in this revolting undertaking. What these people want you to do goes against everything you believe in. Not only would this ruin your name, but your families, and even poor, injured Nepeta. Also, what if your actions inadvertently cause injury to one of you fellow student; you could never live with yourself if this happened. This whole entire operation now seems despicable to the very core.

Right as you take a step forward, planning on running into the school and forgetting any of this happened, you think back on Nepeta's care. Fixing two cuts on one's wrists, giving mass amounts of blood, and restarting someone's heart, plus the fees for staying at the hospital does not come cheap. You realize if you do not do this, the Leijon family, ten people, eight of which not even adult, will not have a chance. They already barely make ends meet; a fee such as this one would cause them to go into insurmountable debt.

Releasing a shaky breath you step away from the building and into the shadows of the forest, your clenched fists held tightly to your sides. _I cannot do that to her, _you reason to yourself, _she's everything I have._


	7. Chapter 7

*Why hello lovely people of the world, what are you doing here? What? You say you are here to read a story instead of listening to my meaningless drivel. Well then! How rude! Anyway, please enjoy the story! X]*

**Catch Me: From Inside...**

Finally, after waiting in the bushes for what seemed like hours, the rest of the group showed up; a teen about your age, a young man about the age of your brother, and man of approximately forty years old. Looking at the three companions of Gamzee, you realize they must be related. They all had pale skin and strange violet eyes; must involve some sort of strange genetic trait. The teenager sported quiffed black hair with some purple dyed into it. Also, wore a strange ensemble of a purple scarf, a cape, and hipster's glasses. The young man, seemingly the teen's brother, styled his jet-black hair and dressed like a greaser. Lastly, the older man dressed in a similar manner to the teen, minus the scarf.

"Who is this, Gamzee? I told you to bring us some muscle, not a pathetic schoolboy," the man growled, with a slight Scottish accent. Grinding you teeth, you take the insults, just wanting to get this done with and behind you.

"Yeah, you stupid clown, can you not do anything right? Really, sometimes you are as stupid as that Captor kid", the older adolescent muttered, glaring at Gamzee viciously.

"Father, Cronus, you must admit, Mr. Makara did not do too horribly," the youngest responds with a hint of a British accent. "While it may be true that he is younger than we expected, he clearly has some potential." The older man and the person he referred to as Cronus turn their gaze to Equius, taking a closer look. "See, look how big his arm muscles are; he must be able to lift a lot of wwieght," the boy continues, still remaining as polite as possible, especially when facing his father. The two other men shake their heads nodding in appreciation.

"Good eye, Eridan, just as any Ampora should have," the older of the two states simply, clearly annoyed by the contradiction made by his youngest son, but appreciative of his logic. "So boy, tell me what yer name is," the older man, Mr. Ampora, demands, directing his attention to you.

"I am Equius, sir," you say, sweating nervously. Mr. Ampora, although dressed in ridiculous attire, for some reason terrifies you. He just gives off an aura of cruelness and indifference. Looking now, you realize everyone else probably has the same feeling about the man; Gamzee hasn't even spoken a word since the man arrived, and even the adult's own children stand a good distance away from him.

"Good, now what has this druggie told you? Hopefully not too much," your employer asks you, glaring a Gamzee. The clown's face, now absent of his signature dopey smile, loses color when the attention shifts back to him; he must not enjoy violence, which is strange considering the work he does.

"No, I didn't motherfucking tell him anything. I motherfucking swear on the merciful messiahs I ain't done that," Gamzee responds, speaking quickly and nervously. He fiddles with his sleeves, tugging at the sleeves self-consciously. You wonder how he ever came to be part of this kind of business.

"Fine." The man looked out at the sky, now darkening at a time of about four in the afternoon. "Well, men, looks like we have to set out," Mr. Ampora states simply, causing fear to well up in your chest. Turning your head, you gaze at school and let out a shaky breath, feeling intense shame rise through your body. The other men start trekking through the forest to get closer to the school, the bushes rustling at they pass through. Breathing quickly and your body trembling, you follow, ignoring the painful pangs of disgrace filling your body.

******************************** **Time Has Passed **********************************

Sitting on a bench, cradling your legs, you have not moved since they dropped you off at the street corner. Warm tears spill down your face and your body quakes from the uncontrollable sobbing. As you wallow in your disgustingly self-loathing, you recount the atrocity you have committed.

Sitting outside the building, looking back and forth, checking out the area, you wait for your companions to just finish the job. They had climbed in through the window of one of the bathrooms to enter the building and later they came out the same way, this time carrying a full duffel bag, as opposed to an empty one. Tossing the stolen object, whatever it may be, you catch it. The sack felt strange in your arms, but you ignored the feeling, just wanting this all to end. Jumping down from the window, Gamzee and the Amporas jump into the van. The oldest Ampora man commands you to enter the back of the truck and watch the stolen object.

As you enter the vehicle, you can tell some items litter the van's inside, however, you cannot tell what they are, at least not with confidence. You place the bag on the ground gently, not wanting to harm the loot, and find a corner to sit in. Eventually, your eyes adjust and you notice something strange. First of all, this part of the van does not connect to the front of the vehicle, which would not make sense, considering they have a stranger watching the stolen goods. Additionally, out-of-place, domestic objects fill the back of the van, most notably a refrigerator, and a simple mattress. However, before you can deduce why such items would be present, the vehicle stops and Gamzee opens up the doors of the van. You squint as light shines through the entrance, causing you to become momentarily blinded. He ushers you out and hands you the money owed to you. As your vision becomes clear once again, you watch as the doors close.

As you remember the next part of the story you bang your hands against the bench, almost causing yourself to topple over. You suppress a scream and remember the recount why you feel such intense hate for yourself.

You are vermin; the scum of the Earth. And all because of one simple event, just a tiny speck of movement. Before the doors of the van had closed, you viewed the duffel bag you had previously been in charge of. And upon gazing at the "object" you had helped steal, you noticed the sound of sobbing. And then, in shock, you watched as the sack moved, muffled screams being uttered from inside.


End file.
